The present invention concerns an attachment for log truck trailers to provide a flexible bail engageable by a log grapple or other lifting instrumentality to facilitate lifting the unloaded trailer onto the truck chassis.
A well established practice in the logging industry is the loading of an empty log truck trailer into place on the log truck chassis for a return trip to the log loading site. In the past, log trailers have been provided with grapple engaged means to accomplish such lifting. Grapple engagement with the wire often results in early fraying of the wire rope which terminates further use of the wire rope for reasons of safety. As presently used, the wire rope is fitted with permanently attached clevises requiring the frayed wire rope segment and attached clevises to be returned to a shop whereat wire rope substitution may be accomplished, the wire rope ends being secured within the clevises by means of a costly and time consuming "leading in" process. Until such time as the trailer is re-equipped with the new lift bail, it is unusable for log transport. While a replacement lift bail may be carried in the truck such is not done in view of their high unit cost.